


cephalopod love song

by Latia



Category: Homestuck
Genre: (JEEZ), (no not like THAT), F/M, Gen, Octomaid Rose, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-10 23:37:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/791488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latia/pseuds/Latia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Friends shouldn't hide anything from each other, and you trust yours to the ends of the Earth (a phrase that has way more meanings than it should) and back. Especially him. So, it's time to throw caution and safety to the wind--almost quite literally.</p><p>>Rose: Retrieve arms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	cephalopod love song

**Author's Note:**

> Tentacles tentacles tentacles are freaking groovy and tentacles!Rose is the grooviest. Written for the kink meme but pretty much G rated.
> 
> (more shippy stuff under the timeskip if you want to skip that)

And so, Rose removes her legs.  
  
It takes a moment for her to summon the nerve to meet his eyes. Once she does, she makes sure to hold his gaze meaningfully, as if to say something her tongue is too scared to shape.  _Pay attention. This is important._  When she is sure he understands what is happening, she lets her legs drop to the floor with twin thuds of hollow noise, coming to rest where she let her tights pool into an orange puddle. And with a deep breath, she exposes herself.  
  
"Oh," John says.  
  
Then: "huh."  
  
Rose leans back on the table, her arms propping herself up in a faux-casual sort of way. "Always the loquacious one."  
  
"I think you might have gotten us mixed up, Rose. You're the one with the way with words!" She watches as John laughs and runs a hand through his hair, some parts nervous and some parts wondering. For her sake she hopes the later outweighs the former. Rose watches, waiting.  
  
"...so," he says. "Tentacles."  
  
"Tentacles," she says, simply. Said tentacles gently twitch, almost as if in response. There are eight of them in all, a deep, deep purple in shade. They look to be in perpetual movement, slowly undulating in two distinct halves, like twin flowers constantly unfurling and re-furling their long petals. She feels this more than sees this, of course--all of her attention is currently focused on John and his reaction.   
  
Right now, though, it's not much to write home about. "Tentacles. Well, that's a thing." He scratches his head. "Uh. Just so we're on the same page, that's....you, right? Like, those are yours? As in a part of your body?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"......and you're Rose, right? My Rose? I haven't waltzed into some weird dreambubble without realizing it, have I? This isn't one of the dreams of one of those Jades who shacked up with one of those Feferis and now everything's weird and cephalpod-y and--."  
  
Rose sighs. "I am the Alpha Rose. Your Rose. This is not a dream. Yes, I am human; yes, I have tentacles. Don't hit on me, silly bipeds."  
  
He laughs. "Okay, fine, I guess I had that coming. I just..." John keeps tilting his head, eyes switching between Rose's face and the movement that comes from beneath her robes. "Like, wow? Tentacles? You get points for unexpectedness. I literally did not see anything close to this coming."  
  
So far so good. At the very least there hadn't been any screaming involved. "I would have been surprised if you had expected this. I have been very careful, after all."  
  
"Yeah, no kidding! I mean, Dave said you had had a big surprise or something for us--he was with you for three years, and he never knew! That's totally nuts."  
  
"As I said: very careful."  
  
"...so, why did you tell him and Jade before me?"  
  
She had expected this. "For what it's worth, I had planned to tell all three of you at the same time. I just...it was a little difficult bringing it up. I wasn't sure when the tone would be right."  
  
"Okay, understandable." John is now sitting cross-legged on nothing, body hanging relaxed in the air. He does this when he's thinking hard, she's come to learn. "So why today? Why without me?"  
  
It takes her a moment to find the words. "Because I couldn't really keep it in anymore. You three are the closest people in the world to me, and it just felt so..." She sighs. "So wrong to be keeping this a secret from you. There wasn't a proper tone I could wait for for this; there isn't such thing as a proper  _anything_  for this. When I finally worked up the nerve you were out, but Jade and Dave were here...and I knew, if anything, I would at least need Jade when I told Dave."  
  
"And how'd they react?"  
  
Rose smiles. "I think Jade knew all along that there were something different about me, through virtue of being a Hero of Space-- or through virtue of being Jade. She was surprised, at least, but she assured me heartily that there was nothing wrong with me, and that my appendages were...'sooo cooool.'"  
  
John raises an eyebrow. "And Dave?"  
  
"...Dave-"  
  
("holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit--"  
  
"deep breathes, dave :| remain calm"  
  
"haha what are you even talking about harley i am a fucking portrait of calm look up calm in the dictionary and you'll be scoping a pic of me with a tear rolling down my cheek"  
  
"Dave, I think you should sit down, you look pale- here, take my seat-"  
  
"HAHA WOW YOU KNOW WHAT I AM OKAY I AM A HUNDRED PERCENT DOWN WITH STANDING PLEASE DO NOT GET UP"  
  
"dave!!! stop being a baby!"  
  
"...dave?"  
  
"...I never knew you could faint standing up.")  
  
"-Dave took it as well as could be expected."

He screamed, didn't he."  
  
"He claims it was a sneeze. Allergies, you know." The corners of her lips twitch. "For what it's worth, once he regained his composure he seemed to try to confirm I wasn't suffering 'acute calimari fuckbeast-itis'--which I believe is Strider for 'I want to make sure you're okay.' He isn't completely hopeless."  
  
"Well yeah! Dave takes the whole older-brother thing super seriously, you know. I think he was kind of annoyed he had never realized anything."  
  
Rose shrugs. "As I said, I tried to keep things under both literal and metaphorical wraps-."  
  
"Oh no, dude, he wasn't mad at you!" John laughs. "I mean like, he was kind of annoyed at himself."  
  
"...oh."  
  
The silence tastes mildly of guilt. Down on the floor two of Rose's tentacles begin to entwine around themselves, something close to self-conscious.  
  
"...um. But." John bites his lip. "Soooooooo I guess I understand the 'what,' but I'm kind of curious about...the 'how'? Or 'why?' I mean, in this case they might be kind of interchangeable, but..."  
  
She lifts her gaze. "You're asking me how my legs came to do their impersonation of a Jules Verne monster?"  
  
"Well, yeah! I mean, not the monster part, 'cause you're definitely not a monster!"  
  
That brings her smile back. "Thank you for the vote of confidence." Her hands come up to grasp her upper arms. "...er." Suddenly she seems to find the floor rather fascinating. "Well. Do you remember how dreamselves are supposed to be idealized versions of ourselves?"  
  
John blinks. "Like...ohhhhhhhh, so it's like Jade's dog ears sort of! Going god tier gave you those!"  
  
"It would have been a fitting irony if I had simply had them since birth, or if I was some bargain-bin mermaid my mother swiped from a lab, but: yes. The fates were even generous enough to throw a pair of fake legs in for free."  
  
"Yeah, it makes sense...." Still floating a good few feet off the floor, John lazily cartwheels as he thinks. "Like, Jade's dreamself got the dog ears because she prototyped it with Bec, but like...I think they stayed partially because Jade liked them? I dunno,I don't think any other dog part stayed...who knows." He gives an upside-down shrug. "Dog tier is weird."  
  
"Cephalopod tier, in my case."  
  
"Ha!" John chuckles, only to trail off. Suddenly he returns his feet to their rightful place on the floor. "So...that's the how, but what about the why?"  
  
Rose blinks. "What do you mean? As I said, my dream self reflected my..." She trails off. "Oh."   
  
"Yeah, your ideal self! Why was your ideal self...well, tentacle-ly?"  
  
Dammit. Why did he pick the worst possible times to be perceptive? "...more than anything, it was the reflection of the mindset of a me of yesteryear, I believe." She frowns at her lower half, which begins to undulate a little slower. "My love of the zoologically dubious, combined with an... admittedly childish want to be something more than human. To be something greater, something more strange and powerful, and perhaps more...terrifying."  
  
John frowns. If he's thinking it, there's no need to say it--it's not like hasn't yelled it at herself a thousand times-- _be careful what you wish for, huh?_ But...no, that's far, far in the past. "While I continue to be fond of more unique fauna, I'm not too much a fan of changing any other facet of myself."  
  
"Yeah, no, I get it. I just...it's kind of funny. I mean," he adds hastily, "not 'ha-ha' funny, like, it's just kind of ironic that you thought you needed to be all cool and spooky and weird like your monster stories, but you were always cool!"  
  
He pauses. "And spooky," he adds quickly. "You definitely didn't need tentacles to be spooky. Or weird. I dunno, I guess it is pretty silly, but it's not dumb! It's just...you know, a kid thing. A thing you outgrow, I guess."  
  
Rose smirks. "Like bad taste in movies?"  
  
"Pbbbbffft," is his only reply.  
  
She laughs, leaning back and stretching. "In any case, I suppose that answers all your questions?"  
  
"Mmm...yeah. I guess. Only..." He scratches his cheek a little sheepishly. "I was wondering, could I...touch them?"  
  
Um.  
  
"...touch them."  
  
"Uh." He laughs awkwardly. "Is that weird?"  
  
"It's pretty much the equivalent of me asking if I could explore the wonders of your feet, so."  
  
"Er." She's never seen his ears go that red before. "Okay, yeah, that was kind of--"  
  
"That wasn't a no, John."  
  
He blinks.  
  
After a moment, John abruptly kneels, looking more like he tripped than anything. "I'm not going to be  _creepy_  or anything, I just wanted to see the suckers..." He trails off as Rose lifts a tendril to his eye level. He hesitates, then gives it a gentle nudge with his finger. "Heh. Squishy."  
  
Rose smiles, and slowly she extends the limb to brush his hand. He twitches, but lets his hand stay still as the tentacle coils around his arm, almost like a snake. Under her touch she can feel goosebumps prickle.  
  
"Huh. It's warmer than I thought it'd be, but still kind of clammy? But not in a gross way. It's kind of nice." He grins down at the tentacle like it's a friendly dog. "But man, those suckers are all weird and sticky and..." Shaking his head, John laughs. "Man, it's just so  _weird_."  
  
Rose sighs. "Yes, John, we've established that I am, in general, quite weird."  
  
"Yeah, no kidding!"   
  
A dozen snarky retorts to that spring to life in her mind, and she idly selects one of the milder ones. But the moment she opens her mouth, her words die--because right before her eyes, John brings his tentacle-entwined hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to her skin.  
  
"But weird is cool." He looks up, into her eyes with a almost ridiculously endearing smile. "I  _like_  weird."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
  
**> Be John.**   


**> Be John several months in the future.**  
  
> **(but not many)**  
  
  
  
John wakes with dried drool on lip.  
  
Blinking muddily, John looks around, trying to understand where he is. Dark, lying down. Bed? Nah, too cramped, the pillows are too flat...couch pillows. He must have dozed off in the living room--but why is he covered in sheets then? He's pretty much tangled in them, almost as if they're trying to embrace hi-  
  
...oh.  
  
"Hey." Smiling, John gently nudges Rose's cheek with his nose. "Wake up. Release the Kraken."  
  
She sigh-groans. "Wow, never heard  _that_  one before."  
  
John laughs, throat still a little dry with sleep. "It should be the other way around. You've got me all tangled up!" Her four "lower" legs are wrapped around his own legs like ivy. Two meander under his shirt lazily, while the last two have his arms in a hold, a suction-cupped hug. "Isn't this how starfish eat clams?"  
  
"Rats, you've found me out." Rose yawns, looking around at their surroundings. "How'd we fall asleep here?"  
  
"We were watching that movie with the others, remember?"  
  
"Oh, right, Dave's choice-"  
  
"The one he said would knock my movies 'clean out of the shitty movie water'-"  
  
"What was it even about?"  
  
"Sucking. It was about sucking and being an ass king."  
  
"Mm. At least they were nice enough to not disturb us." Rose lets her head droop a little on his chest. "I suppose we should get back to our rooms."  
  
"I guess."  
  
"...on the other hand, I'm quite comfortable where I am, personally." She grips the front of his shirt loosely. "But I know you're probably not a fan of having your personal space invaded ala starfish, so..."  
  
"Hey now, I never said that." John brings his arms around her in a gentle hug. "By all means, get your kraken on. Kraken mack me to double death, bro. I can take it."  
  
"So generous," she murmurs, a smile in her voice. She scoots up a little to tuck her head under his jaw. "If you're certain..."  
  
In the near dark, John feels the slick warmth of eight tentacles exploring his body, a scenario he would have never thought he'd experience with any amount of joy, much less the warmth he feels right now. Rose skims his calves, one tendril extending to tickle his anklebone. Two loop around each arm, tracing the contours of his biceps. Her touch skims his back, the squish of his waist. He can feel her lips twitch a little on his neck, a smile, and he can't help but grin at the darkness.  
  
Weird is cool. It is definitely cool.


End file.
